Coastal Garden

Coastal Gardens feature a relaxed, windswept, seaside environment. Coastal Garden homes typically have adequate space to emphasize a grander garden scale for both hardscape elements and plant materials. Whether your home is on or near the beach or perched on the bluffs above the ocean or back bay, a sense of outdoor comfort and family tradition is always featured in the Coastal Garden design.  Entertainment areas feature custom furniture pieces and cushions that complement garden accessories. Benches and seat walls face the tranquil ocean. A loggia with an outdoor kitchen features a bar and big-screen television. Strategically placed shrubs and soft hedges provide relief from the daily winds while soft, wispy grasses catch the ocean breeze. Many ocean homes feature an interior courtyard or glass atriums—a focal point combining indoor with outdoor living spaces for a simple, relaxing lifestyle.

Coastal Garden Elements: To compliment the multi-colored furniture, light-colored (representing the sandy beaches) walkways and patio surfaces of exposed aggregate, natural stone, and custom, random-patterned brick contribute to the atmosphere of living close to the ocean. Marine artifacts, tastefully placed, can add a marine theme to the overall design, including rustic wood and driftwood. Fire pits, fireplaces and fountains with fire, along with custom outdoor lighting, create an inviting environment during the cool evening hours. Simple, not overpowering, must be the theme.

Coastal Garden Plants: Groupings of natural flowing shrubs and herbaceous perennials that move freely in the ocean winds include ornamental grasses. Natives are an excellent choice, including low growers such as Armeria, Dune Buckwheat, Sea Dahlia, and Beach Evening Primrose.  If a formal design is chosen, sphere-shaped foundation plants with accents of dramatic leaves and sword-like succulents do nicely. Specimen plants include California Buckwheat, Ceanothus, California Fuchsia, and Monkeyflower plants.  Salt, wind, and challenging soil conditions demand that the right plants be selected.